1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to data storage systems which generate acoustic noise during operation, and more specifically, to data storage systems adapted to select an appropriate operational state to control the acoustic noise.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hard disk drives (HDDs) are currently used as data storage devices primarily for personal computers and can be found in households and business offices. HDDs are also becoming more prevalent in other consumer electronic devices found in the home or office, such as set-top boxes, digital video recorders, digital audio recorders, home network servers, and business network servers.
However, HDDs suffer from high levels of acoustic noise generated from the operation of the HDDs. This acoustic noise is created by the rapid acceleration and movement of the internal actuator mechanism which moves the read/write head assembly about the surface of the recording media (i.e., the disk) as data is accessed. As consumer devices containing HDDs become more commonplace in quiet environments such as business offices, living rooms, bedrooms, and home entertainment centers, the frequency of consumer complaints concerning the level of acoustic noise generated by these devices is expected to increase.
The acoustic noise generated by a HDD can be reduced by slowing the movement of the read/write head across the disk surface (i.e., increasing the seek time), as disclosed by Singer, et al., in International Publication No. WO 99/45535. However, increasing the seek time also reduces the bandwidth of HDD data access, thereby resulting in a degradation of the performance of the HDD. In addition, other efforts have previously been made to reduce the magnitude of the acoustic noise generated by the operation of HDDs by shaping the inputs in order to minimize unwanted dynamics (see, e.g., Singer, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,916,635, and Singhose, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,267).
In the system disclosed by Singer, et al., in WO 99/45535, a graphical user interface (GUI) including a controller is presented to the user of a system utilizing a HDD. In one embodiment, the controller is in the form of a sliding scale by which the user can select one operating state of the system along a continuum between a relatively high acoustic noise level/short seek time and a relatively low acoustic noise level/long seek time. To change the operational state of the system, the user is required to access the controller of the GUI and update the selected operational state. In an alternative embodiment, the controller presents the operating states to be chosen in the form of discrete numbered operating states of the system. In either case, because the acoustic noise level and the seek time vary inversely to one another, the user-selected operational state represents a trade-off between the generated acoustic noise and the performance of the HDD.
The present invention may be regarded as a data storage system comprising a storage drive adapted to operate in a selected operational state of a plurality of operational states. Each operational state generates a corresponding acoustic noise level and operates at a corresponding performance level. The data storage system further comprises a system controller coupled to the storage drive, the system controller including a system profile. The system controller is adapted to: (a) receive at least one variable parameter; (b) use the at least one variable parameter as an index to the system profile to autonomously select one of the plurality of operational states as the selected operational state; and (c) transmit a control signal to the storage drive. The control signal corresponds to the selected operational state and causes the storage drive to enter the selected operational state, thereby controlling the acoustic noise and the performance level of the storage drive in response to the at least one variable parameter.
The present invention may also be regarded as a method of controlling the acoustic noise generated by a storage drive of a data storage system. The storage drive is adapted to operate in a selected operational state of a plurality of operational states. Each operational state generates a corresponding acoustic noise level and operates at a corresponding performance level. The method comprises defining a system profile, the system profile relating the plurality of operational states of the storage device to at least one variable parameter. The method further comprises receiving at least one variable parameter and applying the at least one variable parameter to the system profile. The method further comprises selecting the selected operational state from the plurality of operational states in response to the at least one variable parameter. The method further comprises transmitting a control signal to the storage drive, the control signal corresponding to the selected operational state, thereby controlling the acoustic noise and performance level of the storage drive in response to the at least one variable parameter.